All The King's Men
by Lady Nephenee Ranulf
Summary: In which Eirika takes a nursery rhyme a little too literally, and Orson volunteers to play mentor for the day. Pregame.


Wow…I've actually written a oneshot. Go me. How long has it been since I've written one? I think about seven months…

At this moment, I would like to take the time to disclaim Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones. I only write the stories; I don't own the characters within.

* * *

Princess Eirika of Renais, aged seven, was by far a most voracious reader. She devoured every illustrated object she could get her hands on, and then-page Forde had to take extra meticulous measures to make sure that the desperate princess did not get her hands onto his precious sketchbooks, because Latona knew what that girl would do when she managed to snatch them away.

This week's selection happened to be nursery rhymes. Although Eirika was swiftly moving into the realm of novels, she still liked to keep in touch with all of the picture book classics. The gigantic tome she currently had splayed across her lap was no exception. She had never managed to read them all, and thus that was what today would be spent doing, if she could.

Eirika had just finished "Who Killed Cock Robin" when she glanced upon a short rhyme on the next page.

Eyebrows knitted, Eirika took one look at the illustrated picture of an enormous egg- were those _eyes_? – sitting on a wall and immediately focused her attention on it.

_Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,_

_Humpty Dumpty had a great fall._

_All the king's horses,_

_And all the king's men,_

_Couldn't put Humpty together again._

Eirika's eyes widened

_And all the king's men…Couldn't put Humpty together again._

No- it couldn't be possible! She had seen her father's knights. They were invincible! Amazing! Infallible! Different words were of course used by the young princess, but all the same…this poem- perhaps it meant some other king's knights? But no, she had seen King Hayden's pegasus knights, and Eirika knew that like her father's, they could do anything. They could fly! That alone made them beyond comprehension!

In fact, weren't all knights all-powerful?

This rhyme- _it lied_. There was a sharp intake of breath. Lying was bad- REALLY bad! So bad that it had made Ephraim have to stand in a corner for a really long time! Eirika wondered if it was even possible to make a book stand in a corner. _I bet my father could, and then I wouldn't be able to finish it!_ Horrified, Eirika dashed out of her room.

King Fado was out observing the parade grounds. The day was cool and crisp, and everything seemed perfect. He was just about to remark to Sir Orson about the conditions when there was a familiar wail of "FAAATTHHHEERRR!"

Fado laughed at Orson's sour expression- quite sensitive, these knights- and turned to meet the small figure hurtling towards him. "Eirika, dear- what brings you out on this lovely day? No spiders to kill again, I hope? You know how afraid I am of them…"

Eirika giggled at her father's silliness and sorrowful expression. In fact, she almost forgot her reason for coming to find Fado before she remembered the tome she had clutched in her hand. "No, no- something worse, Father! Look!" Pulling on the edge of his sleeve, Eirika opened the book to the appropriate page and directed her father to the offending lines.

"It's lying." The young princess said in a judgmental sort of tone. Orson bent over to look as well and nearly fell over in shock. Fado peered down upon the rhyme and frowned.

"I see. Do you believe, Princess, that all of my knights could not put an egg back together?" Fado asked Eirika, whispering in her ear as if sharing some whimsical secret.

"No," Eirika whispered back. "They're invincible!" The last word was uttered with such conviction that Fado had to laugh, Orson joining in.

"No, really, Father!" Eirika pouted, crossing her arms and shutting the book. "This is all a lie! You can put an egg back together, can't you?" It would be like a puzzle, right? Just fit all the pieces back together again- surely anyone could do that?

As his liege lord was currently unable to answer any sort of question at the moment, Orson took it upon himself to correct the young princess. The knight bent down and looked Eirika straight in the eye. "Princess Eirika- there is something I must show you."

"Sir Orson…?" The girl gave him a puzzled glance. Orson smiled softly and then took her by the hand.

"This way, please. I will lead the way." Eirika, confused, could do nothing but grip onto her book of nursery rhymes and follow as the larger man walked into the castle and down into…the kitchens?

"Ah, Sir Orson!" The head cook hurried over. "I hope everything is well? Not down here to sneak food, are we?"

Orson laughed. "Actually, no. I am, however, in need of one egg and a bowl."

"An egg? What for, if I may be so bold?" The cook leered at the knight, ladle held before him.

Orson looked at Eirika, who gave him an expression akin to, "Huh?" and then back at the cook. Letting go of Eirika's tiny hand, he walked over to the cook and muttered something that the princess could not make out into the man's ear.

"Ah! I see!" The cook bustled away, returning several minutes later with one perfectly white egg. "Good luck, Sir Orson!"

"Thank you," Orson called, before snatching a roll cooling on a nearby rack and stuffing it into his mouth. Bowl and egg in hand, Orson motioned for Eirika to follow him once more and disappeared around the corner. Rushing to catch up, Eirika once again tagged along as Orson led her down hallways and up stairs until finally she found herself in what she assumed to be his quarters.

"Princess Eirika, please forgive me, but I feel that something needs to be corrected." Orson raised the egg, Eirika's eyes following it. He brought it down swiftly, smashing it on the side of the bowl. The yellow yolk and whites spilled out into the bowl, leaving the neatly split-in-two shell within his hand.

"You _broke_ it," Eirika said, faintly shocked. This was just like the nursery rhyme! "You can put it back together, can't you? Can't you?"

Orson smiled wryly. "No, Princess- I cannot. See?" He placed the two fragments together and then set them on the table. Immediately, they fell apart. "I could possibly somehow affix them back together, but it would not be the same."

Eirika gaped. The rhyme…hadn't lied? "So does that mean- does that mean that knights aren't invincible?" Her world was shattering, and for a seven-year-old, this truth was incredibly disheartening.

"Yes, I'm afraid that knights aren't invincible," Orson said gently. "We are human too. Now, we may do things that seem beyond comprehension, but I'm sure that even you could do many of those things later on, Princess Eirika."

"Really?" Eirika asked, her previous unhappiness vanishing at the prospect of achieving the nearly god-like status that being a knight had for her. "Could Ephraim?"

"Yes, your brother as well," Orson said, chuckling. "Now, why don't you go finish your book, hm?"

Eirika nodded furiously. "Thank you, Sir Orson!"

Orson patted her on the top of her head, noting pleasantly that she didn't scowl like her brother when he did that. "You're welcome, princess." Eirika beamed and then departed, book in hand.

Over a decade later, Eirika knelt beside the remnants of a man who had once both broken an egg and changed her world and wondered how he had ended up this way.

"Orson…" Eirika whispered. She felt Seth's hand come to rest on her shoulder and heard him gently voice her name. Eirika waved him off, saying that she would be there in a second. Standing up, she spared a last glance at Orson's prone figure.

Hollow egg shells stared back at her.

_All the king's horses,_

_And all the king's men,_

_Couldn't put Humpty together again._

Fin.

* * *

Notes:

I tried to go a little further into the characters of Fado and Orson with this one, considering that both don't appear often in fics, and I believe Orson has potential to be one of those characters that you can really scrutinize and force into a number of uncompromising situations, seeing as his personality and conflicts are explored somewhat in-game. I think I feel a plot bunny attack coming on…

The original draft of this story actually involved a newly-promoted General Seth getting into a sort of humiliating situation after Fado asks him to complete his first task as a general: correct Eirika's false assumption. The Humpty Dumpty concept came from the title of this fic, which I decided beforehand. After a little deliberation, I figured that Seth 1) didn't need any more abuse from me and 2) just didn't fit the bill as to what I was looking for. Searching for an older figure, I toyed with the idea of creating an OC, but then switched in favor of Orson. The guy probably was a little bit of a sweetie pre-game, and I decided to make him play mentor for the day. He's done quite well.

Anyway, I'm still wondering whether or not to continue and make a collection using this one as the poster fic, or to just let it stand as is. Some feedback would be nice.


End file.
